AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Reaches New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $497.43 and last traded at $505.19, with a volume of 542075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $380.32.

The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on APP shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective (up from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price objective on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total value of $5,000,040.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 372,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,526,219.35. This trade represents a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total value of $32,620,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,688,365.50. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 828,991 shares of company stock valued at $267,640,144 over the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin during the second quarter valued at $241,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in AppLovin by 40.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in AppLovin by 251.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 144,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,914,000 after buying an additional 103,628 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in AppLovin by 24.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 96,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,592,000 after buying an additional 19,100 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in AppLovin by 5.7% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 13,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Stock Up 24.0 %

The company has a market cap of $158.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $349.15 and a 200-day moving average of $226.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin Company Profile

AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for advertisers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their content in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software Platform and Apps. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of a publisher's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform that provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and tools needed to grow their apps from early stage to maturity; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which distributes streaming video for content companies and provides advertising and publishing solutions through its AdPool, ContentDiscovery, and Global FAST Pass products.